Florida 2012

Man - I am really not feeling overly creative with the titles of my posts lately.  Sorry about that. 

2 weeks ago, we took our annual trip to Florida with Josh's parents.  I will say, this is the first plane ride where I felt as though we had truly made it.  Made it to what, you ask?  To the point where traveling is not overly stressful.  Both kids are at a great age to be on a plane.  They just kind of get it now (yes, even the Big Al) and it is just easier.  It also helps that we had a direct flight to Orlando from Providence, which was just over 2 hours.  Although, lesson learned - if you fly to Orlando with 2 young kids, EVERYONE will assume you are going to Disney and you will have to give them that evil "Stop now while you are ahead" look every time they start saying things like, "Oh - are you going to see Mickey??"  Of course, typical Avery - "Nope!  We're going to wait a few more years until we are older and can appreciate it."  That's my girl.

In the past, we had gone to West Palm Beach, but this time around, one of Josh's friends from law school who lives in FL had told us about a great, kid friendly place in Palm Coast, FL, which is about 1.5 hours north east of Orlando.  So, Palm Coast it was.

Anyway - we got there and hadn't eaten lunch yet, but figured it would be easy enough to get off of the highway and grab McDonald's on the way to the hotel.  Um...no.  Apparently, no one in Orlando eats McDonalds (or any other fast food chain for that matter).  No joke - there was not a single "food off of this exit" sign around.  So, we took our chances and got off of an exit only to drive around for literally 30 mins before finding Burger King.  As you can imagine, by this point, both kids were sleeping, which was great.  They ended up sleeping the entire 1.5 hours and woke up just as we pulled up to the hotel. 

So, I knew that this place was bigger than the one that we used to stay at in West Palm, but holy crap!  I'm pretty certain it was nicer than our house (well, besides the kitchen counter tops because, really, what could be nicer than ours? :)).  It was 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bath with a living room, a kitchen (with all Viking appliances), a laundry room and a huge patio.  I mean, look at this place...

The whole resort was great - it had about 5 pools - one of which had sand surrounding it, which was a great alternative to the beach (the Atlantic in April is none to warm) then the "kids pool" was almost like bath water, which allowed for us to stay in it for as long as the kids wanted to without getting cold AND it had a great water slide and then a few other random pools.  It even had a little play area outside the restaurants so that the parents could eat on the deck and the kids could run around and play. 

Mind you, this was also the root cause of us spending a ridiculous amount of money on balls (that were too big to bring back with us, mind you) for Alex.  The second he walked by and saw kids throwing balls around?  It was all over.  Although, I say that, but I think that we would have been suckered into buying them anyway, as the kid literally appeared lost without a ball to bounce around the house or to throw in the pool.  Obsessed people.  Obsessed. 

THEN, the real bonus?  There was a pool that was about 5 feet away from our room that NO ONE knew about.  I mean, I'm not kidding - it was actually kind of eery because it was so quiet.  But, needless to say, it was ideal for when the kids were napping. Josh and I worked out a great deal - I went by the pool for the first hour of the nap, then came back and Josh went to hit golf balls for the second half (there was an 18-hole course on the property). 

The entire trip was actually quite relaxing and was filled with...

eating most meals on the patio (which is one of mama's all time favorite activities)

But, also eating out (which comes in a close second of favorite activities)

Playing in Grammy and Grampy's jacuzzi bath tub

 Pouring really cold pool water on Mommy's feet

 And, just playing in the pools and in the sand

 All in all it was a great trip.  Thanks again, Grammy and Grampy!

Easter 2012

I've said it before, but I'll say it again.  Holidays really get to be more and more fun as the kids get older.  Don't get me wrong - they are fun when they are little too, but it is just neat to see them actually get it.  And, not only do they get it this year, but one child in particular like really gets it.  The day before Easter, Avery reminded me, "Mommy, we have to remember that Easter isn't just all about the Easter Bunny.  It is about Jesus rising from the dead and it is the most important holiday for Catholics."  Sure, Aves. Take all of the fun out of it.  Kidding.  Kind of.   

The Easter festivities began with the kids coloring the Easter eggs.  It was fun this year because Alex was able to participate - last year, he was a bit too young.  As you can see, we started off using the little dipper thingy that they provide...

 And, then quickly just went with our hands to dunk the eggs...

 And, then we got a bit goofy...

 Which is probably what led to Alex successfully spilling an entire bowl of green dye right after these pictures were taken. I don't have pictures of this, as I was in the process of freaking out - envisioning my white chairs turning green for the rest of time. However, I have to say, we used different dye this year and it didn't stain! In fact, it came off rather easily! So, yes, Alex did live to see another day.  Once things calmed down, Avery finished the eggs off by painting the glitter on them...










That night, we left lettuce and carrots out for the bunny.  Oh - and, OJ.  Not sure who decided that he would like OJ, but it seemed to go with the whole veggie theme more than milk, so we went with it.

Easter morning, Avery woke up early and came into our room.  I will say that it took her a while to remember that it was Easter and that the Easter Bunny had come the night before.  But, once she did, she was ready to roll.  Alex tried to pretend that he knew what was going on, but really, he just followed Avery around. 

They were all excited to find their baskets waiting for them on the table - along with a note that the Easter Bunny left in order to explain Avery's broken Easter Basket handle.  And, I thought I wasn't creative in the story telling department...

Later that morning, we bundled up and went outside to find what the Easter Bunny had left. 

How on earth did the bunny get all of those eggs outside, you ask?  Why, with a head lamp the night before, of course (please disregard the fact that I have included a picture of my husband in his boxers...)!

After naps, the kids got dressed up in their Easter outfits.  Avery insisted on wearing the necklaces and the headband that the Easter Bunny gave her.  And, Al got to wear his soccer ball belt that we got him the day before.  Unfortunately, it was slim pickins at the mall for toddler boy Easter outfits, so Alex wasn't necessarily as fancy as I would have liked for him to be, but still cute nonetheless.  Please note the balls in every picture.  That kid literally does not go anywhere without a ball.  He is obsessed. 

That afternoon, we went over to Josh's parent's house, where the bunny had hid more eggs.  The kids had a blast finding them all and of course, Avery spotted one within 30 seconds of being there.  Not even the Easter Bunny can get things by her!  If you look closely, you will notice that the Easter Bunny hid eggs that were actually footballs, soccer balls, basket balls, etc. for the Big Al.  Quite creative.

The day ended with a nice dinner at Grammy and Grampy's house - Bunny ears and all...

Story Time

For those of you who know us well, you know that we have very specific bed time routines in our house.  It's funny because, they definitely change over the course of time.  But, for a good couple of months, we do nearly the exact same thing every night with each kid. 

Alex is currently in the "I want to procrastinate and do anything that I can to avoid actually having to lie down and go to sleep" routine, which happens to be the EXACT same routine Avery was in at his age.  This includes reading two books, rocking in the chair, pulling moo-moo cow 4 times (he has to pull it all 4 times - if I even attempt it - we have to start all over again), getting into bed, him saying, "mommy, mommy, mommy" in this really annoying "I'm just trying to procrastinate" voice and then asking for a sip of water and then me getting him the sip of water and then him asking if it is full and me saying no and him drinking it and then saying that his belly hurts and me saying that of course it does because he just swallowed a huge air bubble when drinking and that the only thing that will make it feel better is sleep and then him finally laying down, saying "good night!  have a good nap!  I'll see you in the morning when you wake up!  I love you!"  Seriously.  I do this exact same thing every night.  Like, exact same conversation, exact same everything. 

And, then?  I go into Avery's room.  Her routine is much easier.  By the time I get in there, Josh has already read books, so I just get to lay with her for a while and talk.  However, recently? She has thrown a bit of a kink in the routine.  She has asked me to tell her a story. Now, as you all know, I'm an accountant.  I'd like to think that I'm not your typical accountant in that generally I'm a bit more fun, entertaining, etc.  However, when it comes to creativity?  Not much there.  Or, at least not when it comes to actually having to make things up.  But, this is actually ok because Avery specifies whether she wants a story that actually happened or if she wants one that didn't happen.  9 times out of 10, she wants one that actually happened.

I'll be honest - while somewhat stressful having to think of stories, this has really been a great thing for both of us.  It has allowed me to go back in time and to remember all of the great memories that I have from growing up and it has also allowed her to hear about the things that I used to do when I was her age and to gain an understanding of my childhood, which I think is really cool.  And, not only that, but it gives me an opportunity to really try to teach some life lessons through some of the stories.  Some of the stories so far have included:

1.  Trips to Hawaii as a kid (and specifically, me singing Christmas Carols the entire way up Haleakala)

2.  The time that Mom and Dad surprised Lexi and I with a trip to Six Flags for the day and while there, I let go of Dad's hand and kept walking even though they stopped (don't worry, we found each other again) - this was clearly a great one to teach the "If you ever lose us in public, this is what you do" lesson.

3.  The first time I was ever asked to audition for a solo and how I was so excited.  But, then, Mrs. Zupan ended up asking Tara Hart to do the solo instead of me - Lesson here?  Things don't always work in your favor, but you need to keep your head up and support your friends and be happy for them even if it makes you a little sad.

4.  The times that Lexi and I used to fight and as a punishment, Mom made us hold hands for an hour - Lesson?  Don't fight with your brother because holding hands with him for an hour would really suck (ok - it was said in a nicer way).

5.  How I used to be in Brownies and that Grandma was the Brownie leader and we used to do things like go to hair salons and get our hair done as a troop and then go to dinner - Lesson?  Getting pampered can create a bond and teach lessons just as well as camping in the woods.  :)

6. How Auntie Sara and I first met - she was sitting all by herself in the lunch room at Wales Elementary in 1st grade and I asked her to sit with me to have lunch - Lesson?  Be nice and include everyone. 

And, then you have the made up stories - so far, we have only had a few of these, thank goodness.  We have had an ant and a bee who were friends at school and who invited each other over so that the other could get a sense of the chores that they have to do every day and then the magic dragon who came and saved a little girl and her family on a cruise ship that ran out of gas (yes, this was clearly taken from some current events - I can only be SO creative here). 

And, what's really cool is that she follows me and either makes up a story of her own or just tells me about her day. 

I have to say - this current routine may be my favorite so far  - I'm hoping it lasts for, oh, I don't know, 30 more years...